Inspections head in Cape looks to raise reputation

The perception of the Cape Girardeau city inspection services department over the years has not been a good one.

Numerous complaints have been issued by residents and builders to the city council and on to city management. It took too long for the department to review plans and issue permits, residents said. Former city councilman Butch Eggimann calls an inability to stop the complaints one of his few regrets in eight years of public service.

And while there still may be a long way to go before the perception, or the reality, of problems is totally changed, council members and the city manager say they are finally seeing a turnaround in the image and attitude of the inspections department.

City manager Michael Miller, the mayor and several council members believe new inspections director Robert McClary, hired in August, is showing that he is the right man for the job.

"I definitely think I can see a change in direction," said council member Marcia Ritter.

Mayor Jay Knudtson agrees.

"The department was failing, and failing because of a lack of leadership," said Knudtson, who shortly after McClary was hired demanded that the department make positive changes. "Mr. McClary has got the maturity and the experience in managing people; and that more than anything was needed in that department. He has made an immediate impact."

Building responsibility

The department's nine employees are responsible for building inspection, building plan and site-layout review and construction code enforcement. They also deal with city regulations on minimum property standards.

McClary replaced former inspections director Tarryl Booker, who resigned to accept a position for the city of Carbondale, Ill. However, according to a woman who answered the telephone in Carbondale's resource department, Booker was hired but never worked there. Booker's Cape Girardeau telephone number was no longer in service.

The mayor said he has gone from having four to six complaints per week to four to six compliments about how McClary is handling things. Councilman Charlie Herbst also said he has received fewer complaints since McClary's hiring.

Cape Girardeau architect Tony Sebek said he has been impressed with McClary's demeanor.

"I haven't seen a lot of major changes as of yet because it's pretty early since the director has been hired by the city," Sebek said. "But I was impressed by his manner and professionalism. I just think the new gentleman in control down there will be able to work with everybody and has a lot of experience and knowledge."

McClary, who has held positions in municipal government since 1973, most recently worked in Park Hills, Mo., as city administrator. In Park Hills, he commuted for three years to the University of Missouri at St. Louis to complete a master's degree in public administration. He said he was glad when he graduated last year.

"It was 70.26 miles each way, but who's counting," he said.

Proactive approach

But education was only part of the package. What council representatives say they are impressed with is McClary's proactive approach and execution.

For instance, when McClary first started, he had just lost a plan reviewer and there was a stack of 47 applications to review. McClary increased the workload of his inspectors and had them review the residential plans. McClary reviewed some too and in just two weeks the department was caught up.

Since then, McClary has assembled a site review team which meets about once a week to go over multifamily and commercial site plans. Instead of plans bouncing from desk to desk in different departments, they are reviewed at one meeting with McClary, the fire marshal and representatives from the engineering and planning departments.

McClary, who said the inspectors are top-notch workers, said he wants emphasis on the city's relationship with contractors. Once a contractor himself, he knows the natural conflicts that can come up when inspectors do their jobs.

McClary's approach is to try harder to bridge that gap, said Mike Conrad, a city inspector.

As an example of a more-friendly emphasis, McClary said he wants the building community to know what is going on.

For example, the city's board of appeals has reviewed the city's codes over the last two years and, with the support of the city's inspection department, will recommend the adoption of seven model codes as adopted by the International Code Council. Most of the proposed codes -- like the inclusion of seismic design requirements of residential construction, the requirements for the new "arc fault" circuit breakers for bedrooms and new emergency exit requirements for finished basements -- will end up costing builders more money, McClary said.

But instead of instituting the codes and waiting for a negative reaction, McClary has asked that the city council hold a non-mandatory public hearing on Dec. 16 to elicit opinions from the construction community before the decision is made. McClary will also mail notices to every licensed contractor in the city.

"There's a lot of construction expertise in this community," he said. "They will have an opportunity to influence the whole process."

Another example of McClary's proactive ideas is to assemble an inspections team, perhaps this spring, to sweep neighborhoods and enforce things like minimum property standards, abandoned vehicles, excessive trash and high weeds.

"When we were interviewing him, he asked what we were looking for," Miller said. "I said I want the department managed well and done in such a way that improves the public image of the department and maintains the professional standards necessary for the protection of the public in the area of code enforcement. That's what he's doing."

News editor Tony Hall contributed to this report.

bmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127